Enter the 2's

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!!! Sorry I've been a little out of the loop, but we've had birthday festivities to plan for and celebrate. Our baby boy turned 2 years old on Friday, and we can hardly believe it. We had his birthday party yesterday evening, and I'm pretty sure Matt had a fantastic time. At moments it was a bit overwhelming for him...you could tell by the bewildered look on his face, but overall I know he thoroughly enjoyed the attention and spectacle of it all.

We had some snacks & watched the kids play inside and outside. They blew bubbles and ran all over the yard and took turns in the swing. Then we watched Matt open his mound of gifts; it really was ridiculous, but boy do we have some fun, new stuff to play with now! Matthew couldn't even keep up with what was being opened. He didn't understand that once he opened one gift there were still more to come. He'd toddle off and start playing with something he'd just opened and I'd have to plead with him to come back and help me open some more. I tell you who I didn't have to plead with for help though...everyone else! All the other little people gathered around me to where I was surrounded, thrusting gift after gift at me while busily ripping open paper and removing tissue paper from bags. It was a frenzy! But, I needed their help because if we'd waited on Matt we'd have been there for hours. He got all kinds of fun stuff: a bowling set, a little xylophone/piano combo, lots of new books, big trucks, a grill that talks, a huge stuffed horse, a Thomas the train, a talking sit & spin (can't wait to see how he likes that!), a John Deere wagon, etc., etc.!!! The boy was spoiled to a huge degree. I don't think he understood it was all for him. Let's just say I'll be putting a few things away to pull out for a later date.

We then came inside for dinner. I fixed some Italian fare for us all since Matt is a pasta lover. I made Matt a cake in the shape of a train. The best is that when he looked at it the day before and the day of his party he'd say, "tractor!" and I'd have to correct him and then he'd say, "choo-choo train!" Too cute. I know he liked it because he kept wanting to look at it and get his hands in it. I also made some red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting...YUM! We all sang happy birthday to Matthew, and it was so fun to watch him grin from ear to ear and scan the whole crowd around him. His little head was on a swivel just admiring all the singing, smiling faces gazing at him. He was eating it up. He kept saying, "blow candle, blow candle!" so we finally did. Then he wanted to do it again. Alas, that is not how it works! He got settled in his high chair and was handed a generous portion of cake which he delicately ate with his fork. He had some serious blue teeth from that frosting, it was awesome.

The crowd began to disperse as out of towners hit the road, and the kids ran around like mad and enjoyed Matt's toys. Matt asked for his blanket finally and once he had it in hand he stumbled around completely exhausted. He rested his head on my shoulder and then lunged toward his bed as I was praying over him and telling him night-night. I'm pretty sure he fell right to sleep. In further honor of Matthew and to keep the party going, we played some Guitar Hero. It was a great day, and one that I'm sure Matt will be talking about for weeks to come.

This picture is from the other day when I was trying to keep Matt busy while I was getting ready. I got all of Steven's hats out of his closet and Matthew enjoyed putting them on me and then on himself. And of course he had to admire himself in the mirror and laugh hysterically. Cutie. I can't believe I have a 2 year old!

Birthday, Babies & Football

We have had a nice weekend. Well, I guess the best we can have without Steven around. He's working, so Matt & I have been entertaining ourselves with all kinds of activities. Yesterday morning we went to Brooke's birthday party and helped her celebrate her 1st year of life. Matt enjoyed checking out all her toys and visiting with their cat. I think Brooke had a good time, too, she was excited about the new toy phone she got and then smearing her cupcake all over herself. Classic.

On the way home Ava fell asleep before we even left their neighborhood, and Matt chatted it up while alternately sucking his thumb. Once home, he racked out for a few hours. The Reners stayed and watched the Longhorn game with me. What a stressful game...and I can't believe we pulled that one out!

At halftime we all went up to the hospital to feast our eyes upon the newest Hampton little boy, Ryan. He's precious! We agreed that he looks a lot like Tyler but not as hairy! Teehee. Just walking through that hospital gave me flashbacks of this time 2 years ago. Matthew has changed so much! It's hard to think that he was once a tiny little newborn because he has morphed into a busy & boisterous toddler. Once again, Matthew did not appreciate me holding the baby. He felt threatened. He whined and said, "hold you Mommy!!" even during Zach's best efforts to entertain him. Welcome baby Ryan, and congratulations John & Alicia & Tyler on your newest addition!

We came home and fed the kids some dinner, and then the Reners headed off to another birthday party; this one of the adult variety. Ava stayed behind with us, and the kids ran circles in the backyard giggling and stumbling. We also enjoyed cracking open pecans that were littered throughout our yard. Ava would stuff her mouth full with pecans to where she couldn't even speak and then bring me more to open and feed her. So funny. She also enjoyed handing Matt rocks while he was in the swing and then pushing him. Matt thought it was fun too.

Exhausted, the kids both went to sleep with a nary a peep. Matthew made it until 7 this morning (new time!) and I was thrilled. Hope tonight will be the same. We look forward to HEB this afternoon and Steven home with us this evening. YAY!!!

Nacho Trick or Treats

Matthew had a great 2nd Halloween. I wasn't sure if he'd tolerate his cape, but Zach grabbed it and tied it around Matt's neck and it worked just fine. Yay! Because really, the cape is the best part.

Matthew posed with Atomic Betty but wasn't too keen on holding her hand. Later, we walked down to one of Zach & Joy's neighbor's houses for a little neighborhood gathering in their backyard. It's always interesting to see what parents pick out for their little ones' costumes. My favorite was probably a little boy who his mom said he was supposed to be dressed as a 70's disco guy, but really looked like a lame rip off of Elvis in the 70's...not to mention the kid refused to wear his wig; go figure! There was also a man there that was dressed as the Man in the Yellow Hat from Curious George, and his son had on a monkey costume. Now, this man had taken the time and effort to spray paint his pants and hat bright yellow (he said it took him 2 nights) and commented that they were somewhat stiff. HA!

I love this picture of the kids on the porch swing holding hands. They're staring into space and could care less that their hands are touching. I love how slouched and relaxed Matt looks and his chubby belly hanging loose. Awesome.

We gathered up a group who was ready to go trick or treating and headed up the street back in the direction of the Rener's house. Matthew was so cute, he'd say "trick or treat!" while walking up to a house but not once the door was opened by its owner. So funny. I loved watching him stand there with his bag in hand and reach out for candy and then put it in his bag. He had no idea why strangers were freely giving him candy at their doorsteps. Thankfully, too, he doesn't really know what candy is yet and therefore didn't demand to eat it all evening. It's the last year for that though I'm sure.

We made it back to the Rener's and had some tasty chili dogs and put our exhausted children to bed. Then we played some Halo and rocked out to Guitar Hero III (Tim's b'day gift)...we're such nerds. But, all the kids that came to their door that night made some kind of comment. My favorite was a little girl of probably 8 years old who said, "is that Guitar Hero I or II?" We replied, "III." She said, "oh wow!" and ran back to her parents waiting in the car. You know she was pleading with her parents to get her the new one so she could be cool like us old folks. Ha!

Matt's on another sleeping binge since we got back from Houston. The other day he'd been sleeping for nearly 3 hours and I heard some chit chat coming from his room. I walked in there and it was all quiet. He was laying down with thumb in mouth, and he then looked up at me and said, "No!!" in this terribly pathetic whine while shaking his head. I asked him if he wasn't quite ready to get up and he didn't reply. I walked out of his room and left his door open and went about my business expecting him to call for me any second. Nope. He slept for 30 more minutes. Yesterday he slept for another nearly 3 hours so we didn't even have time to carve our pumpkin! I guess it will function as a decorative pumpkin this year. And, after yesterday's excitement he slept until 8 this morning. So nice. I know it won't last long though because this weekend is the dreaded daylight savings time change. We'll see how we do.

Remembering Mee-Maw

I feel like we were gone a long time, but we were really only in Houston one night. It was a busy & emotional 24 hours. We semi-caravaned with Bryan & Sarah (I say that because they were a few minutes behind us and ended up having to change a tire...) after church on Sunday to Kingwood. We checked into our hotel and then attended the visitation at the funeral home next door. The flowers were beautiful and we enjoyed watching a slide show with pictures compiled from all the many happy years of my grandmother's life. We then drove to my grandfather's house to eat and fellowship with the rest of our family.

We headed back to the hotel to put Matt down for the evening. It was our first time to have him with us in a hotel and we weren't quite sure how we were going to pull off the sleeping routine. Thankfully, Matthew still loves his pack & play and is a sound sleeper. We put him in bed and then Steven & I hid out in the bathroom until he fell asleep! It worked. Then we watched TV on mute the rest of the evening. Exciting, huh?

The funeral the next morning was lovely. You could see the outpouring of love from all of my grandmother's many friends and family. Zach & Joy, the incredible people that they are, watched Matt & Audrey out in the foyer during the service. I knew that Matt would not have sat still for such a somber occasion & I was just picturing myself running down the aisle with a squirming, whining toddler in my arms missing half the service. But thanks to my amazing friends I didn't have to worry about it. Thank you!!!

After a quick box lunch back at the hotel we drove down to Lake Jackson for the burial. Zach & Joy took Matt with them back to Austin so we didn't have to drag him everywhere with us that afternoon. It was a gorgeous day & frankly one of the nicest days I think LJ has ever had. There were only a few mosquitoes. After the burial we were able to view Mom's gravesite and leave some flowers. I just can't believe how much our family has been through in the past few years. We hugged on each other and then drove over to the Brawley's house for a change of clothes and some refreshment before heading back to Austin. Mrs. B made us homemade cookies! Yum.

I'm so thankful I had the privilege of having my grandmother in my life for 29 years...and that she and my grandfather lived close by so we could see each other often. She loved us all so much and was always so thrilled to spend time with us and in later years to gush over our own children. She and my grandfather were married for 63 years. He was always so loving and attentive to her. I remember spending weeks with them in the summers (just my brother & I) when we were kids, playing cards & watching Jeopardy (she was good!), and playing hide & seek in their house. She loved to entertain, and Thanksgiving was always her holiday. And what a spread; complete with a jello mold and giblet gravy. We looked forward to that Thursday every year. When she hugged me it always felt so sincere and like the love sprung from the very depths of her heart. She had a great laugh I'll never forget, too. Her eyes would sparkle and you couldn't help but giggle along with her. She was a wonderful lady, and she will be very missed.

Dress Rehearsal

Today was a day full of Halloween festivities & football fun. Bryan & Sarah threw a big bash out at their house, and we had a great time. I kind of hate to reveal Matt's costume prior to the actual day, but these pictures are too hilarious not to share. We got out to Leander in time to let Matt play a little while and then put him down for a (very brief) nap. It's hard to sleep with all that action happening around you. The food was delicious, and I ate way too much...but it was well worth it! At one point we got all the kids out in the backyard and "exercised" them for awhile. Somehow I was the target for all the tackles. There was swinging and climbing and running and football throwing.

At halftime during the Longhorns game (that was a seriously tight game..sheesh!) we got the kids dressed up in their Halloween gear. Ava was Atomic Betty, Caroline & Mary Claire were witches, Audrey was a black cat, and Matthew was Nacho Libre.

Why Nacho? Well, it made more sense when he still had his head full of curls, but he still has the chubby body that looks awesome in tights and briefs. And, this may be the last year that I get a say in what he wears; may as well take advantage! I swear he's going to hate me for this one day, but man it sure is funny.

You can see that Matthew was not keen on wearing his cape. I couldn't even convince him to wear it for pictures. Steven forced it on him and Matt let him know his displeasure by spouting tears and pulling at the cape until it released from his neck. I couldn't get a good picture of all the kids together. They couldn't keep still. Matthew found comfort in his blanket as he usually does.

After an action packed day we came home and Matt fell right asleep. I imagine he'll be reciting all his cousin's names when he wakes up in the morning and recounting the good times.

That's Right...More Pumpkins!

We can't seem to get enough pumpkin fun. Matthew has been talking about the pumpkin patch ever since we went last week. Today we met up with Joy, Ava, Alicia, Tyler, & some other fun girls & their babies from their church at a pumpkin patch close to our house. Matt was delighted to see Ava and Tyler, & basically followed Ava wherever she went. Oh how the roles have reversed! Here's some fun ones of the three in a pool of hay. I love Matt's reaction to Tyler's cries.
And then somehow we got them all on a picnic table sitting happily next to each other and actually smiling! What I didn't get a picture of is when Matthew went and sat on a different bench next to Brooke McAfee and chatted it up with her. Too cute.
After purchasing a nice big pumpkin fit for carving we went down the street to a hamburger joint next to Amy's ice cream. I could hardly convince Matt to get in the car because he was so desperate to stay with Ava. He didn't believe that they were going to the same place with us. After much struggle and threats to just take him home, his body finally went limp. Once there, Matthew was too distracted to eat. He ran around the playground and went down that slide at least 10 times. Finally tearing him away from all the friends and fun we got back to the car and had another struggle getting strapped in. He wanted to stay with Ava. Our main problem here was that it was WAY past his bedtime and he was all kinds of grumpy and tired. I guess I shouldn't have kept him out that late past nap time. We came home and he fell right asleep but only slept a little over an hour which is highly unusual for Matthew the sleeper. Might be an early bedtime tonight, we'll see!

On a more somber note, my sweet grandmother passed away early yesterday morning. Although my grandmother may not have known we were there, I'm very glad that Bryan & I went down to visit when we did. It was good to be together as a family. Her services will be held in Kingwood on Monday morning, so we are headed back to Houston on Sunday.

Oh, and congratulations to the Tooleys on welcoming Samantha Joy into their family. What a sweet, baby girl. Have a great weekend everyone!

Could it Really Be Fall?

We're so excited about the zippy weather outside! Such a gorgeous day today. Matt & I were walking into the fabric store this morning and he said, "brrr cold, Mommy!". Hilarious. I'm also discovering that the boy doesn't have much to wear. We'll be doing some clothes shopping in the coming weeks for sure.

Also this morning I was getting myself together and I pulled out my hair dryer as Matt came rounding the corner into the bathroom. Matthew looked at me and said, "Mommy dry hair...patient...few mim-mitts." HA!!! It's almost as if he's heard me say that a few times...hehehe. But I don't think I've ever said that in regards to my hair drying although it does take forever. I usually have to coach Matthew to be patient while we're in the car on a long trip or say, while he's waiting for me to fix his lunch or dinner. It's just funny to hear him repeat it in such odd instances. I was dying. Also leaving me with peals of laughter was watching Matt run to the back of the door to our bedroom where the full length mirror is and give his reflection a kiss. He'd then run up to me and say, "Ma-moo kiss!" and then go do it again. Too funny.

Today my brother and I are heading to Houston to visit my grandmother. She has not recovered well after her gall bladder removal surgery a couple weeks ago, and today she is being moved to a hospice facility. Matthew will be staying at home with his daddy. Those two need some one-on-one time anyway. Matt's been a toot the past couple days. Toddler fits and big feelings. Guess who's almost 2?